Apostolic Faith Church Deploys Armed Security as Nationwide Attacks Escalate, Calls for Unified Prayer

|By Chinwendu Nwani

The Apostolic Faith Church has confirmed that it now conducts worship services under tight security amid rising attacks on religious centres across the country.

A member of the Board of Trustees of the church in West and Central Africa, Prof. Joseph Oba Fatoba, revealed this during a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State Council, as part of events marking the Ondo/Ekiti 2025 camp meeting.

Fatoba, who lamented Nigeria’s deepening security crisis, said the decision to station security personnel around worship grounds was no longer optional but a survival requirement due to frequent bandit incursions.

“For some time now, we have had security men guiding our services. Formerly, it was not like that. On Sundays, while people are worshipping, there must be security men on duty. We don’t want any problem to arise unexpectedly,” he said.

He stressed that the insecurity gripping the nation spares no group, adding that linking the crisis merely to religion would derail efforts to resolve it.

“Insecurity affects everybody, Christians, Muslims, and others. It is now a national issue. If we try to tie it only to religion, we may fail in fighting it. The devil is behind what is happening,” Fatoba stated.

The cleric asserted that only national prayer can lift the country out of its worsening turmoil, noting that political and security measures deployed so far have failed to achieve lasting results. He disclosed that the church launched intensive nationwide prayer sessions two weeks ago, open to all Nigerians irrespective of denomination.

Responding, NUJ Chairman in the state, Leke Adegbite, commended religious bodies for interceding for the country, noting that despite relentless unrest, Nigeria remains intact by divine mercy.

“In some nations, a fraction of what we face would have scattered them. But God has been merciful because of men and women who pray silently for this nation,” Adegbite remarked.